In a clear change of position, Al-Sadr presents a proposal to solve the Iraqi crisis
The leader of the Iraqi Sadrist movement, Muqtada Al-Sadr, suggested on Saturday that “all parties” present in the political arena since the fall of Saddam Hussein, including his party, give up the government positions they occupy to allow the political crisis in Iraq to be resolved.
Al-Sadr, who is powerful and unpredictable, has the potential to pull Iraq out of the deadlock it has been in since the October 2012 elections.
Iraq has since been without a new prime minister or government, as Shia forces have not succeeded in agreeing among themselves.
Al-Sadr requests
The Sadrist movement demands the dissolution of parliament and the holding of early legislative elections. The pro-Iranian coordinating framework wants these elections to be held, but with conditions.
Muqtada Al-Sadr considered, on Saturday, his previous demand to dissolve parliament and hold early elections to be less important now, and added a new demand, in a clear change of position.
Al-Sadr tweeted that “there is something more important than dissolving parliament and holding early elections. The most important thing is that not all parties and personalities that have participated in the political process since the American occupation in 2003 until today (…) including the Sadrist Movement,” the party that he leads.
He continued: “I am ready within 72 hours to sign an agreement that includes this,” he said, noting that “if this is not achieved, there is no room for reform.” Al-Sadr did not reveal the names of the individuals he intends to appoint to lead the next government.
Al-Sadr Positions
Al-Sadr’s most prominent slogan since the beginning of the crisis is the fight against corruption. His party does not participate in the current government, but it enjoys influence in some ministries over the past years.
For nearly a month now, his supporters have been staging a sit-in in and around the House of Representatives, and they have briefly besieged the Supreme Judicial Council.
This month, current Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi launched a “national dialog” to try to get Iraq out of its impasse, but representatives of the Sadrist movement and their leader boycotted the initiative, saying it “only reached some points that do not fatten or lead to hunger.”
